Wall board



Dec. 1 1, 1934.

. N. A. BRAND WALL BOARD Filed Oct. 10, 1931 Patented Dec. 11, 1934 UNITED STATES WALL BOARD Norman A. Brand, Lancaster, Pa., assignor to Armstrong Cork Company,

Lancaster, Pa., a

corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 10, 1931, Serial No. 568,107

Claims.

My invention relates to wall boards adapted for use in building constructions wherein the boards are secured by nails to studdings or crossstringers to form upright walls and ceilings.

5 Wall boards of this type generally consist of a composition body composed of gypsum or any other suitable plaster mixed with water. The body may have suitable fibers and driers added and is mixed until it becomes plastic. The board is then rolled to a suitable thickness and is enclosed in a paper sheathing. The marginal edges of the sheathing may cover the edge of the board or the edge may be left uncovered.

It is an object of my invention toprovide a wall .board having at least one surface finished in such a manner that when the board is applied no further decoration will be required. It is a further object of my invention to provide a wall board that will possess a high degree of water resistance. It is a further object of my invention to produce a wall board that will be inexpensive to manufacture and which will materially decrease the expense of a complete installation, It is a further objection of my invention to produce a wall board of pleasing appearance that will retain its decorative effective for the life ofv the wall board. Other objects of my invention will become apparent upon reading the annexed specification considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a wall board illustrating one embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 .is a fragmentary perspective view of a wall board illustrating another embodiment o my invention.

Figure 3 is a transverse cross section through a wall board illustrating another embodiment of my invention.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross section through a wall board illustrating another embodiment of my invention.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 10 designates the core of my wall board. The core 10 is preferably formed of a gypsum composition but any suitable plaster may be used. The core is provided on its bottom surface with a sheet of suitable paper 11 having its marginal edges turned up as shown at 12 and 13 to protect the edges of the wall board. In Figure 1, the upper surface of the core is provided with a covering 14 of saturatedfelt.

Although I have shownthemarginal edges of the board as covered by the paper, it is possible to leave the edges exposed or to have the paper extend only to the edges and to have the edges covered by the saturated felt facing layer. It is also possible to cover both surfaces of the core with saturated felt. Since the saturated felt is much more water resistant than the building 5 paper ordinarilycovering the back surface of wall boards, this structure has the advantage of increased water resistance on both surfaces.

The. saturated felt provides a better binder for any subsequent covering than ordinary wall 10' board. The board may be installed in any con-. struction in place of ordinary wall board. The layer of saturated felt may then be decorated by any suitable wall covering such as paint, plaster, wall paper or tiles. 15

Preferably, however, I apply suitable decorative effects to the saturated felt at the time it is manufactured so as to eliminate the necessity of any subsequent decoration. The saturated felt may be decorated with a suitable design by brushing, spraying or by printing a suitable paint composition on the surface of the felt. The design may be applied by suitable mechanism before the wall board is subjected to the final pressing operation. The saturated felt is preferably decorated before it is applied to the Wall board. The decorated saturated felt may be applied to the core of the Wall board in the same manner as the undecorated saturated felt.

In Figure 2 I have illustrated a second embodiment of my invention in which the upper surface of the core 10 is covered with a layer 15 of undecorated saturated felt which in turn is covered with a layer 16 of suitable decorative material. Preferably the layer 16 is of linoleum 35 composition. Although the expression linoleum composition is customarily limited to the mixture of granular materials that are consolidated on a continuously extending backing layer to form linoleum, I desire to define the expression broadly enough to include also preformed tesserse of linoleum. These tesserw are formed by consolidating a granular mixture of oxidized linseed oil, fillers and pigments by heat and pressure to form a sheet and then cutting the sheet thus formed into small pieces of any desirable shape. The linoleum composition is applied to the saturated felt and consolidated therewith by heat and pressure and the composite sheet is then applied to v the upper surface of the plastic core of the wall board in the same manner as the undecorated sheet of saturated felt.

Instead of using linoleum composition as a covering for the layer of saturated felt, I may apply any suitable material such as asphalt tile or protect the edges of the core.

washable wall paper to give the surface of the wall board itsfinished appearance. The material may be applied to the saturated felt before the saturated felt is applied to the plastic core of the wall board or it may be secured to the saturated felt by means of a suitable adhesive after the felt has been applied to the wall board.

In Figure 3, I have shown a wall board that is particularly adapted for use in bathrooms. The core 10 is provided with a paper backing 11 in the same manner as an ordinary wall board. The facing material 17 is saturated felt which may be decorated with any suitable design. One end of the sheet 17 extends beyond the adjacent edge of the core. This end 18 is wrapped around a strip 19 ofsuitable material to form a cap moulding integral with the outer surface 17 of the wall board. The strip 19 is preferably a thin strip of wood but any suitable material may be used. This embodiment forms a particularly attractive wall for a bathroom when thesaturated felt is decorated to simulate the appearance of tiles and the cap moulding then simulates the tile moulding customarily used with walls of this type. This simulation is accomplished by wrapping the end 18 around the strip 19 so that the design face of material 1'7 is outermost on the cap molding.

In Figure 4 I have illustrated an outer corner construction embodying my invention. The plaster core 20 is formed with a short upturned edge portion as indicated at 21. The outer surface of the core is formed on the sheet of saturated felt 22 which has one edge 23- turned up to conform to the shape of the core 20. The innersurface of the core is covered with a sheet of building paper 24 having an upturned portion 25 covering the upstanding portion 21 of the core 20. The edges of the building paper may be turned over as indicated at 26 and 27 to This construction is of particular advantage in that it provides a water resistant seamless corner construction. The corner will not open under any conditions of service. The saturated felt adds sufficient strength to the wall board so that it can be handled or shipped with a minimum of breakage.

In the construction of Figure 4, I prefer to use a saturated felt that has already been decorated, although I may use a plain sheet of saturated felt and apply suitable decoration later.

Special shaped constructions other than the corner illustrated in Figure 4 may be formed in accordance with my invention. In such cases, however, it will be necessary to provide special shaping apparatus. The corner construction requires only a straight guide to retain the upstanding portion 21 of the core 20 in place until it has hardened sufficiently to sustain its own weight. I may form an inside corner construction in exactly the same manner as the outer corner construction illustrated except that the building paper would be placed on the outer surface of the core and the saturated felt would form the inner surface.

Although I have described the preferred embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that various details may be modified without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not desire to be limited to the specific details of construction except as set forth in he appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wall board adapted to be installed directly upon supporting members and furnish a finished decorative scheme upon installation, comprising aplaster core, a resilient, water-resistant facing therefor, and a plurality of decorative tiles mounted upon said facing and secured thereto.

2. A Wall board adapted to be installed upon spaced supporting members and furnish a finished decorative scheme upon installation, comprising a plaster core, a resilient, water-resistant facing therefor, and a decorated, waterproof sheet secured to said facing, the decoration of the board harmonizing with that of contiguous boards upon installation whereby a complete, unitary decorative effect is obtained.

3. A wall board adapted to be installed upon spaced supporting members and furnish a finished decorative scheme upon installation, comprising a plaster core, a resilient, water-resistant facing therefor, and a decorative covering of linoleum secured to said facing, the decoration of the board harmonizing with that of contiguous boards upon installation whereby a complete, unitary decorative effect is obtained.

4. A wall board comprising a plaster base and a decorated, waterproof covering of greater di-' mension than the base secured thereto, the excess covering substantially enclosing a core adjacent at least one edge of the board to form an integral cap molding therefor.

5. A wall board adapted to be installed upon spaced supporting members and furnish a finished decorative scheme upon installation, comprising a plaster core and a sheet of linoleum secured thereto, said linoleum sheet comprising essential ly a waterproof backing and linoleum composition thereon. 

